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Satisfaction with Life Scale
Satisfaction with Life Scale
| Availability |
The instrument is freely available here: Satisfaction with Life Scale Instrument
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| Classification |
Basic: Moderate/Severe Rehabilitation and Concussion/Mild (TBI)
Supplemental: Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), Sport-Related Concussion (SRC) Acute (time of injury until 72 hours) and Acute Hospitalized and Epidemiology (TBI)
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| Short Description of Instrument |
The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) measures the respondents' overall satisfaction with life. The SWLS consists of 5 questions answered on a 7-point Likert scale ranging from 1=strongly disagree to 7=strongly agree. Administration time is brief and is rarely more than 2-3 minutes.
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| Scoring |
Total score ranges from 7-35. Higher scores indicate better satisfaction with life.
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| Rationale/Justification |
SCI: The measure has been widely used with SCI samples across the US including SCIMS centers. In general, the outcome measure has good psychometric properties and reasonably good clinical utility. It is easy to administer and score. Life satisfaction after SCI can be reliably measured by means of the SWLS. Correlates of subjective well-being parallel those suggested by earlier studies and those for the population at large. The effects of life satisfaction on social participation, health, and other aspects of life need further study (Dijkers, 1999).
Sport-Related Concussion-Specific:
Advantages: Specific to sport concussion, includes acute timeframe (time of injury until 72 hours). Short measure consists of 5 questions answered on a 7-point Likert scale which takes <4 minutes to administer. It is widely used across the US. The measure has good psychometric properties and reasonably good clinical utility. It is easy to administer and score.
Limitations: Age range of scale not mentioned but may not be relevant for pediatric patients either.
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| References |
Diener E, Emmons R, Larsen J, Griffin S. The Satisfaction with Life Scale. J Personality Assessment 1985;49:71-75.
Dijkers M. Correlates of life satisfaction among persons with spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehab Vol 80 (8) 1999: 867-876.
Fuhrer MJ. Subjectifying quality of life as a medical rehabilitation outcome. Disabil Rehabil. 200020;22(11):481-489.
Fuhrer MJ. Subjective well-being: implications for medical rehabilitation outcomes and models of disablement. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 1994;73(5):358-364.
Ritchie L, Wright-St Clair VA, Keogh J, Gray M. Community integration after traumatic brain injury: a systematic review of the clinical implications of measurement and service provision for older adults. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2014;95(1):163-174.
Richards JS, Bombardier CH, Tate D, Dijikers M, Gordon W, Shewchuk R, DeVivo MJ. Arch Phys Med Rehabil, 1999;80(11):1501-1506.
Document last updated April 2020
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